My virtual Sefer. I will Iy"H publish things that I thought of, or found interesting...

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Emunah U’Bitachon 1:2

Yet, of what use is vision alone, if man does not have the power to move things? The creator therefore prepared for man two arms, on his right and his left. He split each arm into individual components, each with its own joints, so that they move quickly and easily. At the end of each arm, he placed a hand; each with five separate fingers. These fingers have the sense of touch, differentiating between cold and hot, dry and wet, and soft and hard – all according to man's needs in his earthly life.

Yet these qualities – eyes and hands – would serve no purpose if man would still not be able to move himself. He therefore created in man two feet, enabling him to walk on the ground. All these are beautifully made, with wisdom and perception.

However, eyes, hands and feet will not help man if he is still not endowed with life! The creator therefore provided him with a soul, granting life. It is a secret hidden from us, yet we can all testify that life exists and is an entity, and through it we exist. We call 'life' by various names, the soul, nefesh, ruach or neshamah – all an indistinct way of defining this entity, although in reality we don't know what it is.

In truth, there are many things in a person's body that cause one to wonder over their complexity and function – the various limbs, the construction of the flesh and the bones, the circulatory system that preserves life, and the blood itself which is essential for life. But, even if man exists, complete, he still cannot be assured of survival, because his life is dependent on being constantly nourished, which refreshes his physical capabilities. Because of this, the botanic world was created, grain, wine and oil, vegetables and fruit, of innumerable types. Each of these contains various strengths that parallel man's needs – whether as medicine, for hydration or for nutrition. (Man has already had the opportunity to understand some of the wondrous wisdom that each plant contains in its composition, which also serves to testify to their creator's boundless wisdom.)

If you will allow me some grammatical nitpicking, the sefer should actually be called Emunah U'Vitachon. Unless you claim that since the Chazon Ish himself almost certainly referred to it as U'Bitachon, that's the true name of the sefer.